


A homecoming

by megablazikens



Category: Pocket Monsters SPECIAL | Pokemon Adventures
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-03-02
Updated: 2017-03-02
Packaged: 2018-09-27 22:05:57
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,960
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10053464
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/megablazikens/pseuds/megablazikens
Summary: It's been months since Red was last in Pallet Town, but he's always glad to be home.





	

**Author's Note:**

> (Yeah not my best title, but whatever.)
> 
> Hey look, for once megablazikens wrote an actual Pokemon-related fanfiction. 
> 
> But yeah, I wanted to try writing some PokeSpe fanfics again. My older ones were...bad. So this is the first time in years that I actually wrote one.
> 
> It's just Red for this one. I wasn't sure who else I wanted to write, but maybe I'll focus on other characters later.
> 
> Regardless, I wanted to have one done for the 20th Anniversary of Pokemon Special. I hope you guys like it. :D

The night sky had already washed over Pallet Town by the time Red returned. All the streetlights have been illuminated and hardly anyone was outside, save for a few people walking home from work and small families walking with their Pokemon. Every once in a while he would see a few of the local children playing in the streets in front of their homes while their parents watched them from the front doors of their houses. 

It was his first time in months that he had been in Pallet Town ever since the day he was asked by Professor Oak to return his Pokedex. He wondered if anyone in town knew about what happened, or if they questioned why he was gone for so long. It wasn't unusual for him to leave town for several weeks because of training or staying in Viridian City with Green, but he wondered if the townspeople were worried. Then again, he was certain word went out about is participation at the Battle Frontier in the Hoenn region, so they probably assumed he was training most of the time for the tournament. 

If only they knew what actually happened in those days since he left for the Sevii Islands.

Even so:

“Good to see you again, Red.”

“I hope you had fun in Hoenn. Welcome back.”

“Glad to see you back home, Red. It's been a while.”

“Hey, be sure to show me all those sick battle moves that you learned at the Battle Frontier, alright?”

Several people had stopped to welcome him home, especially the young children who looked up to him and had asked him for battling advice in the past. An older woman even handed him a small bowl filled with homemade cookies for him and his Pokemon as a welcome home present. Pika took no time to reach into the bowl and eat a cookie. It may not have been any kind of lavish “Welcome Home” parade, but he was still happy to see the familiar faces of his neighbors. 

Soon he reached the familiar dirt path close to the outskirts of the town. A darkened house lay just a few meters away from the path leading into the main street of Pallet Town. The window blinds were still drawn down and the front porch of the house had collected a large amount of dirt and leaves. Despite that, the house looked well even after the long absence of its owner.

“Hey Pika--” he poked the little mouse on the cheek, just above his electric pouches “we're home.”

Pika didn't hesitate to jump off his shoulder and scamper straight to the front porch of the house. Red walked slowly after Pika. The long trip from the Battle Frontier, Vermillion City, and back to Pallet Town really drained him of his energy. He reached the front door, seeing Pika scratching lightly at the wooden frame before he pulled a small key from his pants pocket. Once he opened the door, Red switched the lights on to the living room of the house and the front porch.

“Glad to see the power wasn't cut.” Red placed the cookie bowl and his backpack on a small table near the entrance. “Guess I was worried for nothing.”

“Hey, Red!”

He stood straight up at the sound of his name before he could close the door. He turned to the direction of the dirt path and saw the local postman and his Ponyta. 

“Oh hey,” Red waved back to the man, “it's been a while since I last saw you. How have you been?”  
The postman hopped off of Ponyta, carefully petting it's snout as he pulled a box out of a pocket attached to the Pokemon's saddle. “I've been alright. Just delivering the usual mail with Ponyta here. Gotta say though, I didn't know you'd be gone for so long.”

Red scratched the back of his head. “Yeah, it's a pretty long story, but I'm finally back home. So what's the box for?”

“Oh this?” The postman lifted the box up and handed it to Red “This is all the mail you've missed since you were gone. I tried leaving them all in your mailbox, but after about a week or so, you started getting more letters that I was afraid your mailbox would burst. In the end I decided to take your mail back to the office and place them all in a box until you got back.”

“You came out this late at night just to deliver this?”

“Well yeah. While I was closing up the office, I heard a few kids saying that you were back, so I got the box and Ponyta out and rushed over here to get this to you.”

Red placed the box under his arm. “You didn't have to do this for me, but thank you.”

“No problem at all. Welcome home and have a good night!”

“Thank you. Have a good night!”

Red waved goodbye to the postman and Ponyta before heading back into the house. 

He smiled at Pika, who had already started rolling around on the nearby couch. Small sparks of static electricity emanated from the cushions. He took his shoes off and placed them near the door, taking the box and the cookie bowl to the kitchen. He sat down at the table, his legs feeling very heavy from the long trip home. He looked over to the refrigerator.

“...Damn. I'm gonna have to do some shopping tomorrow, huh?” The thought of the spoiled food in the fridge quickly removed any craving he had for a good meal. “At least I have these cookies.”

Red took a bite out of a cookie as he turned his attention to the box. Outside of local store promotions and some junk mail, he never had so much mail that it couldn't fit in the mailbox. Even after several months of being away he couldn't imagine how he ended up with so much. Sure he had some friends who wrote to him sometimes, but they wouldn't send so many letters at once. He tore the tape off the box and lifted the flaps. Inside were the usual promotions and junk, but the majority of the space within was filled with envelopes of various colors and patterns; some had the corners bent while other had a few tears across the edges or dirt specks on the front. He noticed one thing in common with all the envelopes however: They were all addressed from the Sevii Islands.

He swallowed hard has he thumbed through the letters. After some consideration, he picked up one of the envelopes; it was a light orange color with a few stripes on the edge of the flap. He carefully ripped the top open and pulled out a letter.

_Hello Mr. Red,_

_I know it's been a while since the incident over here on the islands, but I wanted to take the time to write this now that some of the towns here are rebuilt. I wanted to say I'm Sorry._  
_It was wrong of me, of all of us here, to treat you and your friends so poorly. We should have known better than to attack you because of Team Rocket's words. We should have fought back against them in any way we could. We heard from Mr. Celio that you and your friends were incapacitated, so I'm not sure when you'd be able to read this letter. He didn't really give us any details on what happened to you guys, but I hope it isn't anything serious._  
_Regardless, I want to say thank you for helping us. We don't deserve what you've done for us, but the least I can do is apologize on behalf of everyone here._

_Please, get well soon._

Red stared at the words for a while. He placed the paper down over its envelope and pulled another one from the box.

_Mister Red!_

_I heard you were hurt and I wanted to write to you so you can read this while you get better. I asked my daddy to help me write this since I'm too small to spell right._  
_I want to say thank you for helping us! Things were really scary here because of those Team Rocket people. I don't know why the grown ups were so angry at you if it was Team Rocket attacking us, but everyone is really happy now. Maybe they didn't know what was happening. Grown ups are usually good at knowing what is happening, but maybe they got confused._  
_I told my daddy that when I grow up I'm gonna be a strong trainer like you! My Hoppip and I aren't really strong yet, but one day I'll be strong enough to protect everyone like you did. Maybe I can battle you, too!_

_I hope you feel better._

He grabbed several more envelopes, opening them all carefully and reading the letters. He could feel his chest tighten.

_“...I'm sorry for doubting you, Red...”_

_“...even if we deserve it, I hope you don't hate us...”_

_“Thank you for helping us!”_

_“...if only I could have helped you guys...”_

_“...please let your friends know how grateful we are for them...”_

_“...I'll be sure to tell your friends how thankful we are...”_

_“You're our hero, Red!”_

_“Team Rocket's just jealous they'll never be as great as you guys.”_

_“...when you and your friends recover, we'll throw you all a great party at the islands!”_

_“Thank you so much, Mister Red!”_

He could feel tears running down his face, with several drops staining the letter he held in his hand. He wasn't sure what to feel about all this, but he was glad that the people on the Sevii Islands were safe; he was happy to hear that they were worried for him and for his friends, even after everything that happened.

“Pi?”

Red looked up. He didn't notice when Pika had jumped onto the table. Pika moved closer to Red and nuzzled against his cheek, his yellow fur feeling soft against his face. Red wiped his tears away with his hand and gently pulled the mouse Pokemon into his arms. He could feel him lick his face as he nuzzled back into his fur.

“Thanks Pika.” He patted him on the head before continuing. “I need to apologize to you too.”

Pika turned up to look at him, tilting his head to the side.

“You and ChuChu were alone for a long time. I didn't really think about that until now. You were both probably worried sick for us. I hope you can forgive me.”

Pika chirped in response, rubbing against his face before jumping onto his shoulder, letting out a small yawn.

Red couldn't help but yawn, too. The digital clock near the kitchen door read “10:00 PM.”

“It isn't too late, but I think we should get to bed now. I'm really exhausted.” Red stretched as he stood up, placing the opened letters gently back into the box and closing it. He was going to look at the rest of them tomorrow. “Maybe I'll call Green, Blue and Yellow tomorrow to see how they're doing. Wonder if they'll want to see those letters, too?”

He walked up to his room, getting back into is old nightly routine of changing into pajamas, brushing his teeth, and getting into bed. Once he was in bed, Pika jumped onto his chest, spinning around until he made himself comfortable on his chest.

“Do you like that spot, Pika?” Red chuckled as he ruffled the fur on Pika's back.

“Pii!”

Red smiled as he turned the lamp on his nightstand off.

“Good night, Pika.”

He closed his eyes and let himself relax into a deep slumber.


End file.
